“Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade” by Diana Gabaldon

“Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade” by Diana Gabaldon
2007, Bantam Dell
ISBN: 978-0-385-33749-6

“Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade” by Diana Gabaldon can be read as a stand-alone story or as a corollary to the Outlander books she has written. I feel my reading was enriched by already having read, several times, those other books.

I enjoyed reading this book. Diana lent a deeper richness to the character of Lord John than I’d had from the other books. This is the story behind the story. Here I was able to see more of Lord John the person. Not so much of James Fraser or of his time traveling wife Claire. These are John’s stories and I’m glad to see them.

It happens when you write that what is put upon paper and becomes, “The Book” is but the tip of the iceberg of material that was actually written, whether it ended up on paper or is still rattling around in your head. It was terribly interesting to me to imagine how a writer might draw upon that material and create a book out of it. Or, perhaps it happened that Lord John just demanded his part be written. Sometimes characters do that too. I wonder if it was a combination?

Taken from the mid 1700’s Lord John and his family have lived with the disgrace of the suicide of his father. But, it was not suicide and through this book there is the quest of proving it otherwise.

If you enjoy things Diana Gabaldon you might look her up on the Compuserve Books & Writers Forum. She is quite active there.